


a sudden change of plans

by helsinkibaby



Series: The District Dating Scene [3]
Category: NCIS
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Het, Romance, canon character death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-28
Updated: 2018-09-28
Packaged: 2019-07-18 19:09:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,735
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16124876
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/helsinkibaby/pseuds/helsinkibaby
Summary: When Ducky pulls Nick out of a stakeout,  Nick knows something is badly wrong.





	a sudden change of plans

**Author's Note:**

> Gen prompt bingo wildcard - terror/fear

Nick has never been a fan of stakeouts at the best of times, but even he has to admit that this is possibly the worst stakeout that he's ever been on in his life. At least when he's in a car, he can get out if he needs to, stretch his legs quickly, open the window for some fresh air. 

Spending the day stuck in a toilet cubicle, staring at a warehouse, taking turns with Alex to stand on the toilet lid and keep watch? 

It's pretty much his definition of hell. 

And it's not helped by knowing that Ellie is spending a lot of time with Qasim, translating conversations as they try to work out who tipped Chen off about Operation Willoughby.

Which he thinks is completely understandable and not at all his fault. He's seen how Qasim looks at Ellie, sees how his face lights up when he's around her, sees how his eyes linger on her as she moves away from him.

Nick knows what a man who's crazy about Eleanor Bishop looks like; he sees it in the mirror every day.

So yes, he's feeling a little bit jealous and possessive at the moment, even if he hasn't said a word out loud.

He knows he has nothing to worry about, knows Ellie isn't the kind to step out on her man. Just like he knows that Qasim is an honourable man, wouldn't dream of putting the moves on someone that he knew was taken. 

But still. 

There's something there that Nick doesn't like. 

And this stakeout is giving him a lot of time to think about it. 

"Nick!" Alex hisses his name and as he turns, carefully balancing on the toilet lid, he sees her jerking her head towards the door. "Someone's coming." 

Her hand is already on her gun and as Nick carefully steps down onto the ground, he draws his own weapon, points it at the door. Alex holds up three fingers, then moves her hand to the handle, counts down with a nod of her head. After "One" she throws the door open and Nick's jaw drops at what he sees there. 

Ducky. 

Ducky in his beige overcoat, his hands raised. "Don't shoot," he says but he's not looking at Alex. 

He's looking at Nick. 

He's looking at Nick and there's something in his eyes that makes the hairs on the back of Nick's neck stand up. 

"Ducky, what are you doing here?" Alex keeps her voice low but she sounds as confused as Nick feels. 

"I'm afraid that I'm going to have to pull Nick away from you, Alex," Ducky says and he's still not looking at her. 

That's when Nick knows. 

Something's happened to Ellie. 

"Is she ok?" 

Ducky holds up one hand. "Eleanor is fine," he says but that doesn't make Nick breathe any easier. When Ducky continues, "But she is on her way to the hospital," he feels terror start to roll backwards and forwards deep in his stomach. 

"What happened?" Alex asks the question, evidently realising that Nick has lost the ability to speak. 

"She went to Qasim's office to give him the latest recordings we need him to translate. While she was there... there was a drive by shooting. Qasim was hit... three times in the chest." Alex's hand goes to her lips but Nick can't move, can't think beyond the image of Ellie and Qasim talking to one another as a hail of bullets comes through the window. In his time undercover, he's seen the aftermath of drive bys, has been there when some have taken place. The idea of Ellie being caught up in something like that... 

"Jethro asked me to go to the hospital to be with Eleanor," Ducky continues. "He said that I could take you with me. To take Eleanor's statement." It's the flimsiest excuse to get Nick to the hospital that he could have come up with, but Nick doesn't care. He's so grateful that he swears he'll do all the overtime, all the weekend shifts, all the damn paperwork that Gibbs wants him to do once this is all done. 

He manages to nod. "Statement. Got it." 

He still can't make himself move, not until Ducky gestures to the door. "I'll drive then?" 

Alex's hand on his arm, the sympathy he sees in her eyes, finally breaks through his stupor. "Go," she says. "Let me know if she needs anything." 

"Yeah," he says as he follows Ducky out the door and over to his car. 

Nick doesn’t speak when they’re in the car, props his elbow against the window and rests his hand on his chin, stares out at the city rushing by them. He’s aware of Ducky glancing over at him every so often and he’s not surprised when the older man says, “I promise you, Nick... Eleanor is absolutely fine.” 

The idea that Ducky, of all people, would lie to him is nearly enough to make Nick smile. Nearly, but not quite. “I know that, Ducky. It’s just...” He closes his eyes, all too easily able to imagine what the office would have looked like while the shooting was going on. “I never worry about Ellie on the job,” he hears himself saying. “She’s a trained agent, she can take care of herself, I know that. But this... it’s not a fair fight, you know? If she’d been standing a little to the left, a little to the right...”

“Thoughts like that will drive you mad.” There’s no room for debate in Ducky’s tone and Nick doesn’t even try. It’s not like he disagrees with Ducky either; he certainly feels as if he’s going crazy right about now. 

He doesn’t say that though, instead continues, “I’m not used to this, Ducky. I spent eight years on my own... no team, no orders, making my own decisions. Every relationship filtered through a fake identity, never getting too close to people, never...” The words get stuck in his throat but it doesn’t seem to matter. Ducky hears them anyway. 

“Never falling in love?” 

The four words hang in the air between them and it’s on the tip of Nick’s tongue to deny them. Then he thinks, once again, of how things could have been different. Pictures Ducky, instead of driving him to the hospital, driving him to the morgue, sees Ellie’s body, pale and still, lying before him...

The wave of nausea that sweeps over him is sudden and violent and he struggles against it, is thankful when Ducky pulls into the hospital and parks the car. 

He barrels into the emergency room, pushing the door open with scant regard for anyone who might be standing on the other side. He looks around him frantically, seeking out a flash of blonde hair, a dark jacket but finding nothing. His heart is hammering so loudly that he almost misses the sound of a quiet, "Nick," behind him. 

Spinning around, he sees Ellie rising from a chair. Her eyes are red-rimmed, like she's been trying not to cry, her face chalk pale. Her hair is loose, bears all the hallmarks of her having run her hands through it multiple times and as she stares at him, she sucks in a deep breath, bites her lip as fresh tears flood her eyes. 

Nick registers all of that in about two seconds because then he's striding towards her, pulling her against him and holding on tight. One of his arms goes around her shoulders, the other cups the back of her head and he closes his eyes as he buries his face in the crook of her shoulder. He can feel her hands making fists in the back of his jacket, feel her body shaking and he would whisper some comforting words into her ear if he thought that he could speak without shedding some tears of his own. 

He's dimly aware of a hand landing on his shoulder, patting gently. He lifts his head to see Ducky giving him a sympathetic smile before he inclines his head in the direction of the nurses' station and moves away. Nick nods once at him, then turns his attention back to Ellie, taking a bare half step away from her, cupping her face in his hands and staring into her eyes. "Are you ok?" he demands, his eyes travelling down her body and back up again, looking for any signs of injury and finding none. He doesn't give a damn what Ducky told him, or how many times he told him. He won't believe it until he hears it from Ellie, and maybe not even then. 

Ellie nods, sniffs loudly, slides her hands down his back but doesn't remove them entirely. "I'm fine," she tells him. "I wasn't hit... Qasim..." Her voice falters on the name and she sucks in a shuddering breath. "He pushed me down." 

Nick sends a silent "thank you" to the other man, mentally apologises for every less than nice thing he'd ever thought about him. "You're sure?" he asks and he knows things are serious when Ellie doesn't glare at him for being overprotective, just nods and leans against him. He wraps his arms around her again, closes his eyes and holds her tight. 

"They won't tell me anything," he hears her whisper. "I've asked, but..."

"Ducky's here," he tells her and he actually feels her relax. "He's on it." 

He doesn't know how much longer they stand there like that but Ellie only draws back from him when there's the quiet sound of a throat being cleared behind them. "Ducky," she says as she straightens up, tucks her hair back behind her ears. "Is there any news?"

When Ducky doesn't immediately speak, when his eyes shift from Ellie to Nick and back again, when he shifts on his feet and looks down, Nick knows what he's going to say. If the way that she inhales sharply, bites her lip, is any indication, so does Ellie. "I'm terribly sorry, Eleanor," Ducky says. "They managed to stop the bleeding... but his brain was simply deprived of oxygen for too long. There's nothing they can do." 

Fresh tears flood Ellie's eyes and her hand moves to her lips. Her shoulders tremble with suppressed sobs and Nick doesn't really care that they're officially still on the clock, he pulls her into his arms and he lets her cry.


End file.
